The production, applications and economic study of activated carbon for large scale production including an educational study on undergraduate laboratory modules

"December 2010.""A Thesis presented to The Faculty of the Graduate School At the University of Missouri In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science."Thesis supervisor: Dr. Galen Suppes.The production of activated carbon was evaluated using a biomass feed stock, corn cobs, as a precursor. The importance of the carbonization process and activation process are discussed and how nanopores and its unique surface chemistry allow activated carbon to perform advantageously in the transportation of natural gas. Adsorbed natural gas transportation is a valuable technique because of its ability to gain access and utilize methane from currently unavailable resources by conventional methods. A design approach was proposed and evaluated using the applications of activated carbon to transport natural gas including economic analyses on the large scale production of activated carbon. In addition, an experimental learning module was developed to study the mass and energy balance involved with operation of an AA Alkaline battery under a load current. An extension of the module allows evaluation of laboratory assembled batteries using granular anodic/cathodic materials. The system allows load resistance to be varied and measures voltage and temperature. The importance of batteries and the integration of chemical engineering education is discussed involving the battery-resistor circuit module.Includes bibliographical references (pages 54-55)